Warning!
Book fairs are only as good as you make them Each varies in
character. Choose the best matches for you, then promote,
promote, promote. For other ideas on how you can make
your book fair successful, check "book fair" references in
the index of The
Frugal Book Promoter.
Find at least one tip on writing, promotion or
tech on every page of this Web site.
(The
book fairs below are ones that I have personally presented at or
participated in some other way. Contact me for recommendations if you
wish. Conventions and tradeshows are listed separately below.)
West Hollywood Book Fair, a medium-sized fair, large enough to draw
crowds, small enough to give participating authors attention. It's
frequented by Hollywood types so if you're yearning for the outside
chance of having a producer or director see your book, this may be the
place. Your programming contact is Corey Roskin. Fall.
LA
Times/UCLA Festival of Books, This is a huge fair. You'll get lost if you don't plan,
but the possibilities are endless. They offer an early bird rate
if you sign up before November of the previous year. The fair is usually
the last week in April.
San Bernardino Book Fair at San
Bernardino Valley College. This fair is
very small; a great opportunity for new authors.
Hollywood Book
Festival is a very small book fair. For information e-mail
hollywoodbkfest@aol.com for details. Phone is 323 665 8080.
Their theme is "spotlighting books worthy of further consideration from
the film, TV and game industries."
www.hollywoodbookfestival.com . This year they've changed
venues. They'll be at The Grove at Farmer's Market. That should help
traffic.
National Book Festival on the mall in Washington DC is sponsored by
the Library of Congress. Opportunities for presenters other than very
famous or extremely well-reviewed or connected authors is limited.
Excellent sponsors. It has room to grow.
During the
second full weekend of October each year, more than 200 authors converge
in Nashville to celebrate books with book-lovers at the
Southern Festival of
Books. It is held on the Legislative Plaza that surrounds the
Capitol building in downtown Nashville. It is like a huge carnival of
books. Speakers (including me in 2007) present in meeting rooms at
various locations around the plaza.
Yvonne Perry and
Carolyn Howard-Johnson as Carolyn signed her books at the
Southern Book
Festival in Nashville, TN, 2007.
Others Book Fairs:
These are fairs I know about but haven't attended
or participated in.
BookEm (This event
benefits literacy and travels to different locations in the South.
They sometimes do several a year.)
Blackboard Festival: "Dozens
of Authors. . .Thousands of Readers. . .All Under One Roof." May
17-18, 2008, George R. Brown Convention Center, Houston, Texas
Meet
the Authors Book Fair (Melbourne, Fl) Late fall. Check this fair for
benefits offered by The Book Display for authors who can't attend.
Reasonable booth prices.
Online Videos by Veoh.comCarolyn
Howard-Johnson is available to speak or serve as a panelist at book
fairs.
See a list of the many places Carolyn
has spoken including many book fairs
and publishing industry expos and conventions.
Find at least one tip on writing, promotion or
tech on every page of this Web site.
Conventions and Tradeshows
For the uninitiated,
tradeshows and conventions are usually set up for people in the trade
and those associated closely with it. Often the public is not invited
and special credentials are required for entrance. Sometimes fairly high
entrance fees are required as well.
The DIY Convention: Do It Yourself in Film, Music & Books
PMA's Mini University is featured at Book Expo America each year.
Virginia Library Association Annual Meeting and Exhibit offers a
book exhibit. Contact
Mark Trocchi.
Massachusetts Library
Association Annual Meeting and Exhibit. Association Book
Exhibit. A combined exhibit and professional conference.
Contact
Mark Trocchi.
International
New Age Tradeshow (INATS)
isn't about books only, but if you write for new agers, this
is a tradeshow with an excellent reputation for sales of new
age books.
This is what the floor of Book Expo America looks like.
Book Publicists of Southern California
(BPSC) has a mini book fair at each of their meetings.
This, left to
right, is Pam Kelly, Dee Vollendorffand Carolyn.
Pam and Carolyn are both BPSC's Irwin Award
winners.
Find more
content on this site's Free Articles
4 Readers and Editors.
This page includes Reviews for Riters
(TM) ,
how-to articles for writers, essays on tolerance and more.
When I can donate my time,
I try to support free online conferences. One I co-founded
wtih Lea Schizas is
The Muse Online Writers' Conference. One I've presented
at for several years running is the
Catholic Online Conference held each spring. Also
check out Jo Linsdell's
PromoDay
that appears every spring. It focuses on book marketing.
Find at least one tip on writing, promotion or
tech on every page of this Web site.
Net Promotion
Tip
Links can be a great way to build Web site traffic.
Trouble is there is a tendency to withhold a favor until
someone has reciprocated. Though I use the term
reciprocal links below, they are not truly
reciprocal because I do not demand a return link.
If I think a link will be useful to you, my Web site visitor,
I will post it whether or not it is reciprocated. Nor do I
expect links to be tit for tat.
Example, someone may mention my book or my site in their
newsletter rather than on their Web site and that makes me
just as happy. I suggest you do the same. It gives
your link page more credibility and it underscores what
pubic relations is supposed to be about -- ethics and a
willingness to help one another out when possible.
Find at least one tip on writing, promotion or
tech on every page of this Web site.
Carolyn's HowToDoItFrugally Series
of
Helpful Books for Writers
The books from
Carolyn's HowToDoItFrugally series of books for retailers are included.
Authors of books are also retailers. Yep, they should blog. Yep, they
should Tweet. Just substitute the word "author" when you see the word
"retailer." I know you'll benefit from retailers' secrets. I did!
Great
Poetry
PurchaseTRACINGS
(Finishing LIne Press) at Amazon.
Give the
gift of poetry with a chapbook from Magdalena Ball's and
My Celebration Series CHERISHED PULSE:
Unconventional Love
Poetry IMAGINING THE FUTURE:
Ruminations on Fathers and Other Masculine Apparitions SHE WORE
EMERALD THEN: Reflections on Motherhood
BLOOMING RED: Christmas Poetry for the Rational (Coming
soon!)
Former book
acquisitions editor Terry Whalin says, "editors and publishers
don't read manuscripts. They read book proposals. In
Book
Proposals That Sell: 21 Secrets to Speed Your Success, you
learn the inside scoop to achieve your dreams." I highly
recommend it.
~~~
Promotion Services
You'll find
direction in the Frugal Book Promoter for building your own media
kit; if you choose not to build your own, the information there will
make you a better partner for a publicist you might hire to help you. I
recommend PressKit 24/7, the brainchild of publicists with over forty
years' experience. We know the speed at which you need to work, and we
know what it takes to get the media's attention. It was critical for us
to be able to create professional online press kits for our own clients.
So we understand what you need for yours.
...you will find at least one promotion, writing.
or tech tip on every page on this site. Sometimes you'll find two or
three! Happy browsing and collecting!
Endorsements
"I’m a writer who
would love to have someone else take over the editing and proofreading
stages of my manuscripts because I hate editing, proofreading, and
rewriting. Ms. Howard-Johnson’s techniques and her encouragement from
page to page of THE FRUGAL BOOK EDITOR lifts my spirits to the level
where I can approach these hated tasks in a better attitude and get the
job done. I advise all writers to obtain a copy of THE FRUGAL BOOK
EDITOR and keep it handy as your write."
~Lucille P. Robinson, reviewer for
Alternative Read
Wow. What more can I
say? [The Frugal Book Promoter is] interesting,
informative, readable and more. Easy to follow, quotes and technique
mixed in together wonderfully. This is an A-one job. Watch out world!
I’m going to have to put it under my pillow
~
Leora G. Krygier, author of First the
Raven and When She Sleeps
Tip
Please note the new page on this site that
features writers' conferences and
their benefits.
Find at least one tip on writing, promotion or
tech on every page of this Web site.
Site
Sponsors
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at
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Book Promotions
Best Book Award for The Frugal Book Promoter (2004) and The Frugal Editor (2008).
Reader Views Literary Award for The Frugal Editor
New Generation Award for Marketing and Finalist for The Frugal Editor
Book Publicists of Southern California's Irwin Award
Military Writers Award of Excellence for Tracings, A Chapbook of Poetry.
A Retailer's Guide to Frugal In-Store Promotion wins author Military
Writers Society of America's Author of the Month award for March, 2010
Gold Medal
Award from Military Writers Society of America, 2010.
MWSA also gave a nod to She
Wore Emerald Then,
a chapbook of poetry honoring mothers.
And more than a dozen other awards for Carolyn's novel, short story collection and poetry.
See the awards page on this site.
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Sponsor
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our budget minded menu of promotional services.
Don't be bullied into buying bundles that cost you
thousands and include services you don't need.
At
Promotion a la Carte lets YOU choose from our
publicity buffet WHAT you need, WHEN you need it.
The Frugal Book Promoter
is one of your most valuable resources because
it is written from personal experience and gives you
the basics for promoting everything else you do--in
print, on TV or radio, or online. See an excerpt on
Fifteen
Publicity Commandments,
and excerpt from that book.
